More Than Just Friends
by Fate Okumura
Summary: Emil Steilsson is convinced that he has the most boring life a person could ever have. But everything takes a sharp turn when Kaoru, his childhood friend, returns after almost 9 years. Suddenly Emil is sent tumbling down a whirlwind of confusing emotions and sooner or later, he's gonna have to face his feelings and let it all out. But can he really, when the time finally comes?
1. Chapter 1

**Lame title is lame -.-**

**So this is basically what I do when I have a great many other stories to update and when I'm bored: Write a new story which I know, sooner or later, I will have writer's block on and will eventually stop updating so frequently and will be piled unto the already large number (For me, at least) of stories I have yet to update on because 1.) The writer's block and 2.) For the sake of procrastination (I do not believe in the L word now). Plus I was in the mood for a little HongIce...**

**So, yeah...**

**Idea randomly appeared out of nowhere last night while I was getting ready for bed and I've been mulling it over in my head since then before I finally had the energy to write it down. So, enjoy~!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia**

* * *

6-year-old Emil Steilsson ran down the street, clutching his stuffed puffin in his arms. His heart beat against his chest and he bid his feet to go faster. Finally, he stopped in front of a house with a red-tiled roof and cream-colored walls. A boy with dark hair and hazel eyes sat at the front yard, boredly flipping through a book.

"Kaoru!" Emil ran up to him. The boy looked up and noticing Emil, shut his book and sat up. "What is it?" Emil sat down cross-legged in front of him and without a word, thrust the stuffed puffin into his friend's arms. Kaoru blinked down at the puffin and looked up at Emil, puzzled. "Emil, what-?"

"He's got a rip." Kaoru blinked. "What?" Emil looked away, embarrassed. "Mr. Puffin's got a rip." Kaoru's eyes widened as he slowly understood. "Where?" he said, starting to inspect the toy for any sign of a rip. "There." Emil pointed to a small tear running along the edge of the left wing, revealing white cotton underneath.

Kaoru nodded his head and handed puffin back to Emil. "Wait here." He got up and ran into the house. Moments later, he returned holding a needle in one hand and a spool of thread and a pair of scissors in the other. He sat down in front of Emil and took the stuffed toy from him. Slowly, he sewed up the rip in the puffin's wing. Emil watched in amazement, wondering how careful and delicate a person could be at sewing compared to Kaoru.

Finally, after what seemed like a long time, Kaoru sighed and held up the stuffed animal. "Done." He said, handing it back to Emil. The latter took it back eagerly and inspected the rip. The spot where the rip had been was now neatly sewn up and good as new. Emil ran his finger down the line of white thread marking the spot where the tear had been.

He looked up at Kaoru, who was looking at him expectantly. "Well? Is it all right?" He said. Emil smiled and nodded his head vigorously. "Yes. Yes it is. Thanks a lot, Kaoru."

Kaoru paused before slowly smiling back. "You're welcome, Emil."

Suddenly, a shrill ringing sound rang in Emil's ears and everything around him dissolved.

And then there he was, 15-year-old Emil Steilsson, head lying on his desk in this hot, stuffy classroom, the sound of the school bell ringing around him. Groaning, he sat up and scratched his head. Running a hand through his white-blond hair, he stared out the window where elementary kids played at the playground outside and he remembered sitting outside Kaoru's house that day, watching in wonder as he sewed up the torn wing of his beloved puffin.

Emil sighed and looked away from the window. That was the first time, since Kaoru and his family moved back to Hong Kong, that he had ever remembered a memory of his childhood friend. Ever since Kaoru had moved away, Emil had slowly began to forget about him, like he was nothing but a thing of the past now, which he probably was.

Yawning, Emil got up and slung his bag over his shoulder. Well, that dream probably didn't mean anything. And as the boy's head was filled with the amount of homework that he had to do, the memory was pushed to the back of his mind and never thought of again that day.

* * *

Emil had lived in the same old neighborhood for as long as he could remember. He had gone to the same school ever since kindergarten, had been in the same class with the same group of kids since grade school, had had the same group of teachers since middle school, had lived in the same old house with his same old parents since he was a baby, oh and had put up with his weird older brother since he was little too.

And so far, nothing had changed.

Well, a few little things had changed over time, but nothing so significant that it changed the way Emil went about with his life. Well, at least, nothing as significant as Kaoru moving in to the house across his.

He had been six when he first heard that a new family was finally going to buy the house across the street which had remained empty and unoccupied since the last family who had lived there had moved away a year ago. When his then-9-year-old brother Lukas had asked if the new people had any kids, his mom replied that, according to what she had heard, they had one child but she wasn't sure if their kid was a girl or a boy.

Emil hadn't been especially interested in the news and had simply continued playing with his food. The next day however, when Emil woke up, he noticed a moving van right outside the house across the street and right after breakfast, he and his brother went outside, sat down on the sidewalk and watched as the movers hauled all the furniture from the van to the house.

Judging by the design of the furniture pieces being hauled out of the van, Emil and Lukas could hypothesize that the family moving in was fairly Asian. Before long, Lukas got bored and went next door to his best friend Mathias' house but Emil stayed on the sidewalk, entertaining himself with his stuffed puffin.

And suddenly, he felt eyes on him. Someone was staring at him and he didn't like it. Not one bit. Slowly, Emil lifted his eyes and there he was. A short boy with dark hair and hazel eyes sat on the sidewalk across the street, fiddling with what looked to be fireworks. Emil looked surprised. But...those couldn't be _real_ fireworks...right?

And then, their eyes locked and Emil froze. He stared at the boy and the boy, at him. **(AN: Wow, just look at how creative at words I am.) **He felt a jittery feeling in his gut and his palms grew sweaty. He felt heat rising to his cheeks when he noticed how deep and penetrating the boy's gaze was on him and he quickly jumped up and ran into his house, flustered.

Over the next few days, Emil had been avoiding the house. Taking the back door whenever he needed to go outside, not looking out of any windows facing the house, even refusing to go with his parents and Lukas when they were going to visit the new people. When they asked him however, why he wouldn't so much as look at the house, Emil's cheeks would turn pinkish and he'd look away, outright refusing to answer any of their questions. Lukas, being the loving and caring older brother he was, simply ignored Emil's troubles and didn't bother himself further with them. His parents however, were worried and tried to get Emil to tell them what was wrong.

But even Emil himself didn't know. There was just something about the dark-haired boy living there that didn't sit well with him. Even just thinking about him made him feel all flustered and later embarrassed at himself. It was weird and very much confusing for Emil. And it took almost weeks for him to get over it.

By that time, Emil had slightly calmed down and was starting to slowly forget about the boy as time passed. Before long, he was using the front door again and was starting to see the house across the street as nothing more but that. A house, I mean. His parents finally got rid of their worry and had convinced themselves that Emil's actions before had been nothing but a phase.

But that didn't necessarily mean that that was the last Emil saw of the dark-haired boy.

He soon learned that he went to his school too as a transferee from Hong Kong but nothing more than that. However it was on a rainy Sunday afternoon that the two boys really met. Emil had been moodily sitting on the sidewalk, upset because he couldn't find his puffin and because it looked like it was going to rain when he heard something going off, like a firework.

He jumped up and looked around frantically for the source, worried that a fire had started. But he couldn't find anything. Suddenly, a bright burst of red illuminated the grayness of the sky and a green one followed afterwards. Emil blinked and stared. Fireworks?

It was then that he noticed that the fireworks all seemed to be coming from the backyard of the house across the street. Feeling his palms sweating over and his heart starting to pick up pace in his chest, Emil made his way around the house towards the backyard.

Leaning over the whitewashed wooden fence, Emil saw him. Back turned to him, the dark-haired boy was setting off firework after firework into the sky, not giving a thought to the people having siestas who would be bothered by it or how they would react when they found out that he was only six. Emil watched in wonder as the boy continued his work.

Then, finally, the boy turned and noticed him standing there. A jolt went through Emil's body when their eyes met. His heart beat faster and he felt heat rushing into his cheeks but he forced it all down and said in his usual cool demeanor, "Do your parents let you do that?"

The dark-haired boy paused before shrugging and saying, "They're not at home right now." He turned back to his fireworks and set some more off. Then Emil didn't know what took him. He just climbed over the fence, walked up to the boy and stood there, hands behind his back, watching the fireworks explode in a million colors in the sky. And the boy didn't seem to mind either.

Even when annoyed neighbors came, complaining about the noise they were making, Emil stayed and helped the boy, whom he learned was named Kaoru, evade the neighbors by dragging him to hidden hiding places around the neighborhood and even when the neighbors gave up and went back home, grumbling, Emil helped Kaoru find a safe place to hide his fireworks. And even after that, Emil stayed with him and was even invited inside the house for snacks by Kaoru's mother, who had absolutely no idea what her son had been doing while she was away.

Emil later learned that they were kind people and not so bad after all. Kaoru was like him in a lot of ways and Emil was sort of glad to find someone he could relate to.

Soon after that, the boys would play together more frequently and would visit each other when they had absolutely nothing else to do. They got closer every time they met and as they learned more about each other, Emil realized just what he had found.

He had found a friend.

And it was the best thing he had ever found, right after Mr. Puffin.

* * *

"Hey Kaoru, where do you come from?"

"Eh?" Kaoru looked at Emil questioningly. "Why do you ask?"

Emil shrugged and flicked away a small pebble on the sidewalk. "You and your family don't look like you're from here." Kaoru paused before replying, "We're from Hong Kong." Emil frowned, "Where's that?" Kaoru shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know. But that's what the country we come from is called, I guess."

"Is it nice there?" Emil asked, looking at Kaoru expectantly. Kaoru shrugged his shoulders again. "I don't know. I've never seen it." Emil's frown grew deeper. "How come you've never seen it if you come from there?"

"I was very little when we moved away." Kaoru replied. "So I can't really remember what it was like there."

"So how long have you guys been here?" Emil asked, cocking his head slightly to the side. "Well..." Kaoru thought for a while before saying, "I was two when we left and now I'm six, so I suppose we've been living here for five years, I guess." Emil's mouth formed an _o _and he nodded his head. "So, do you like, plan to back to Hong Kong again?"

Kaoru looked surprised at the question but he shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know. I guess it's all up to my mom and dad." Emil was about to say something again but he stopped himself and looked away, looking embarrassed. Finally, he said, without meeting Kaoru's eyes, "If you go back there...w-would you take me with you?"

Kaoru's eyes widened, "What?" Emil scowled at the ground, cheeks pink. "Can I come with you when you go back to Hong Kong?" Kaoru looked at him, puzzled. "Why would you want to go to Hong Kong?" Emil wrung his hands together. "Well...I just wanna see it, that's all! See if it's really great and all that...So would you take me with you?"

Kaoru stared up at the sky and didn't reply. Emil thought that he had forgotten the question. Finally, he sighed and said, "Okay, fine." A look of delight passed over Emil's face. "Really?!" Kaoru chuckled, "Yes, really." Emil grinned. "Thanks, Kaoru!" He looked about ready to hug him but hesitated and stopped himself. "Sorry..."

Kaoru smiled at him. "There's nothing to be sorry for."

Then Emil woke to the sound of his favorite band playing on his iPod. He had his elbow propped on his desk and his chin on his right hand, while his other held a pencil to a piece of homework on his desk. He groaned and rubbed his eyes. Another memory? What was with him? He didn't even remember that had happened until he dreamt about it just now.

Emil sighed and took off his headphones. What was it that had suddenly made him dream about his memories with Kaoru now? This all couldn't be a coincidence, right?

_What if it is?_ A little voice at the back of Emil's head pestered him. _What if this is all meant to tell you something?_

Emil rubbed his eyes and groaned. Maybe some rest was all he needed to clear his head a little bit.

Abandoning his half-finished homework, Emil turned off his iPod and crawled into bed, hoping that a good night's sleep was really all he needed.

* * *

Something was up when Emil arrived at school the next day. Or at least, that was what he thought.

When Emil arrived at his homeroom class that morning, he couldn't help but overhear from a group of girls standing by the door that they were going to have an exchange student - from Hong Kong. Emil felt something stir in his gut at the news but he ignored it and dumped his bag on his desk.

He tried to do his homework which he had failed to finish last night but something about the new student from Hong Kong bugged him. He's been having dreams of his old memories with Kaoru lately. They were having an exchange student from Hong Kong. Kaoru was from Hong Kong. This couldn't be just a coincidence, right?

No. Emil argued with himself. Kaoru's not the only kid from Hong Kong. And anyways, these dreams are probably because of his head acting up again. It had happened before and it was probably happening again. Emil pushed these thoughts away and tried to focus on his homework but whatever he did, he couldn't stop thinking of Kaoru and his stupid dreams.

The bell rang, signalling the start of the homeroom period and admitting defeat, Emil stowed his homework away in his bag. "Good morning class~!" Their homeroom teacher walked into the classroom, happily beaming at the bored and sleepy faces staring back at her. Emil sighed and stared out the window, like he usually did. Today's homeroom was probably going to be just as boring as it usually was.

"Today," their teacher began. "We'll be having an exchange student from Hong Kong. Now I want you all to be nice to him while he's here and to welcome him cheerily to our school. Come on inside, dear."

There was a collective sound of muttering, gasping and even absurd giggling as the door to the room swung open and footsteps sounded on the floor. Emil didn't know what made him, maybe that annoying voice at the back of his mind, but he tore his gaze from the scenery outside the window to look at the front of the class.

Biggest mistake of his life.

For the moment he saw the boy standing beside the teacher's desk, Emil felt a scream get stuck halfway out of his throat, making him let out a strangled yelp instead. His heartbeat quickened and he froze like a block if ice. He couldn't believe what his eyes were seeing, yet it was right there. How could he not believe it?

Standing there in front of the class, hands in his pockets, a short dark-haired boy searched the room with his pair of hazel eyes, a cool, vacant expression on his face. Finally, they alighted on Emil. The boy's eyes widened and slowly, a knowing smile tugged at his lips. Emil felt his face going bright red and his cheeks heating up. His palms grew sweaty and he almost lost the ability to breathe.

"Class, this is Mr. Kaoru." Their teacher said in an overly-cheerful voice. "He'll be staying with us here in this class form now on."

Only one thing seemed to be processing in Emil's head right now. Kaoru. Kaoru was here. Kaoru was back. After 9 goddamn years, Kaoru was back.

Emil's heart felt like it was going to burst right out of his chest. Then the teacher said, "Okay, why don't you sit...oh over there! There's an empty seat in front of Mr. Steilsson!" Kaoru nodded a polite thank you to the teacher before making his way to the empty seat. Time seemed to slow down for Emil as he watched his childhood friend slowly walking towards him, his heart getting more and more agitated the closer Kaoru got.

And then there he was, standing right in front of him. Kaoru stared down at him and Emil up at him. Then the dark-haired boy smiled and said, "Long time no see, Emil."

Then Emil couldn't control himself. His heart was hammering against his chest, his face felt so hot that it could have melted an iceberg and he was just altogether reeling at the sudden return of his best friend whom he hadn't seen for years. So he couldn't stop himself when he jumped up from his seat and ran from the room, just like the first time that they had met.

And just like that fateful first time, he could feel Kaoru's deep penetrating stare all the way out the classroom.

* * *

**And this chapter's word count is at least 3,300 and up...Wait, wait?...Mein gott, WHAT?! Seriously?! Oh my god, I just completely went beyond my expectations there, which is quite an achievement for me!**

**So yeah, this is, by far, the longest chapter I have ever written on fanfiction. But really, I worked on this for 2 FUDGING DAYS so, yeah...**

**Anyways, please show that you appreciate all the time and effort I put into this by reviewing. Even if it's a flame, I don't mind. You guys increase the review count anyway XDD. **

**So long and tipp the next update~ (Which will probably take longer than expected. My readers will know -.-)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Yes, I am terribly sorry that I haven't updated in a while. Because of my muse being indecisive and bipolar (as usual), this will probably be a pretty short chapter.**

**Enjoy~**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia**

* * *

The moment Emil stepped out of the classroom, he realized that he had no idea what to do or where to go.

For one agonizing second, panic overtook him and he was compelled to go back into the classroom and pretend that nothing had even happened. But then he thought of Kaoru and just this one simple thought was enough to convince him to continue running down the corridor to God knows where.

His running footsteps echoed in the hall and the sound of him panting as he ran was the only other thing that he could hear. Everything else sounded so oddly muted to him and the only thought that his mind could seem to process was the fact that Kaoru was there.

Kaoru was there in his classroom.

Kaoru was his new classmate.

Kaoru, smiling and saying, "Long time no see, Emil."

Emil could just feel his face going red.

Even now, he found it hard to believe that Kaoru was finally back after almost nine years. He had heard absolutely nothing from his (old) best friend when he and his family had moved back to Hong Kong and Emil had long since given up hope that he and Kaoru would ever meet again. He had completely forgotten about the boy (up until now) and had seemed perfectly fine about it, but then Kaoru did come back. He did meet him again, and now the Icelandic boy was more confused than ever.

Emil soon realized that his feet had taken him to the small courtyard at the back of the school where many students liked to spend their time in. A circle of stone benches surrounded a small fountain in the middle of the courtyard and trees and bushes lined the sides.

Sighing, Emil sat down on one of the benches and rested his clenched fists on his lap.

It was then that he realized just how hard his heart was beating in his chest and just how rapidly he was breathing, and he was pretty sure that it wasn't all because of how fast he had been running.

He closed his eyes and shook his head, running a hand through his white-blonde hair.

"Calm down." He told himself. "Just calm down and think straight."

But he couldn't. All he could ever think about was Kaoru and that smile he had given him. It did many things to Emil, but it certainly didn't calm him down. Nor did it make him think any straighter.

Letting out a frustrated sigh, Emil buried his face in his hands. What was he going to do now? He couldn't very well just go back to the classroom. He would never stand the awkwardness of the situation, and knowing his teacher, he was sure to be kept out until the period ended.

But he couldn't just sit idly here either.

Suddenly, he looked up, face pale, as a realization came to him.

Could his classmates be talking about him now? Could they have guessed the reason why he had run out of the classroom at that moment? Did they think he was weird for doing that? Were they secretly laughing at him behind his back?

With a groan, Emil hung his head in shame. If he was lucky, the whole school would know about his little 'escapade' by the end of the day. If not…well that would depend on how fast his classmates could tap away on their cellphones.

Emil shook his head again, feeling all hope inside him (if there had been any at all) drain away. What was he going to do now? He just felt really, hopelessly confused and he had absolutely no idea what to do.

And rising above all these mixed up feelings that was whirling, twisting and tumbling deep within Emil, was Kaoru.

Kaoru, with that sly easy smile.

Kaoru, with that smooth silky voice.

Kaoru, with those deep dark brown eyes, looking at him, staring at him, gazing deep into his own blue ones…

"No!" Emil hit himself on the forehead. "Stop. Effing. Thinking of him!" He said frustratingly.

Gritting his teeth, Emil clutched his head as he tried to erase it of all thoughts of Kaoru. He tried filling it with other thoughts, to keep him from thinking about that stupid Asian boy.

But no matter what he did, he just couldn't do it. He just couldn't effing do it.

Emil took a deep breath and straightened up, closing his eyes. He just needed to calm down. That was it. Just calm down, Emil. Calm down.

And surprisingly, it worked this time.

When his heart rate had now gradually lessened, Emil looked up at the nearly cloudless sky, his mind finally made up.

Starting from here on now, he was going to avoid Kaoru as much as possible. Even if he had to go way out of his way, he was going to do his best to avoid him. Although Emil would have hated to admit that this was a cowardly way of going about with this, he couldn't think of any other better way and to tell the truth, he had never been one to just face a situation head on, especially if it involved a certain Asian.

Right at that very moment, the bell rang from inside the building and Emil stood up with a sigh, feeling the apprehension already building up in his gut.

And it was only as he walked into the building that he realized just how much he had missed Kaoru after all these years.

* * *

The plan had been simple.

Get to the biology lab before everybody else, pick a seat and act like everything was normal.

It had seemed like a pretty foolproof plan when Emil had first thought up of it and still seemed like so now. But he had never thought of the possibility of meeting anyone he knew along the way.

Much less it being Kaoru.

"Emil?"

The boy stopped at the sound of his name being said in that voice he dreaded hearing, hand on the door of the biology lab. He felt his face go pale and his hand start to get sweaty. A sudden wave of panic was slowly rising inside him.

"Where have you been all this time?"

_Remember the plan, remember the effing plan! _Emil thought and taking a deep breath to calm himself, he pushed open the door and walked inside.

"Emil."

The boy paid no heed to the speaker of the voice as he walked to his usual place at the back of the classroom and sat down. And it was then that he realized that he had left his bag in homeroom. Cursing, Emil stood up and walked right past Kaoru, who had been walking towards his table.

"Emil." The Asian called to him as he walked towards the door. "Are you deaf or something?"

_Ignore him ignore ignore him ignore him. _These thoughts churned through Emil's head as he reached the door. He was about to push it open, when he heard running footsteps behind him and before he even knew it, a hand shot out and grabbed his wrist, pulling him roughly around.

"Hey!" He cried out, glaring at the blank face of Kaoru.

"Are you doing this on purpose?" Kaoru asked, gazing intensely straight into Emil's eyes, so much so that the latter found that he simply could not look away.

"D-Doing what on purpose?" He stuttered, trying hard to ignore the fact that he and Kaoru were practically inches away from each other.

"Ignoring me." Kaoru replied.

Emil felt himself tensing up. He was surprised that the Asian couldn't hear how loud his heartbeat was when he was standing this close to him. The only thing that he could see was the deep brown of the other's eyes and he felt like he could just stand there and stare at it all day.

But what was he doing?! He had to get out of there!

Emil jerked his hand from Kaoru's steel-like grip and forced himself to look away from the Asian's face. (Although it was hard for him to do so)

Without another word, Emil turned towards the door, this time determined to continue walking no matter what Kaoru did.

Then he heard something fly through the air and something fell on the ground by Emil's feet.

Turning, the Icelandic looked down and stared wide-eyed at his own backpack. He looked up at Kaoru, a surprised expression on his face.

The Asian stared blankly back at him. "You forgot this."

Emil glanced between Kaoru and the bag and slowly, he crouched down and picked it up from the floor. A long, awkward silence filled the room, and then Emil, cheeks red, said "Thank you…", just as the door opened and a stream of loud, chattering students walked in.

* * *

**Yeah, that's basically all I can write at the moment, given my muse's current state.**

**Judging by how busy everything is starting to get around here with clearance signing, quarterly exams, the freaking play and all these other hard activities that we have to do for school, I might not update until April, but that would also depend if I don't have to take summer bridge/completion classes. I'm really sorry, but there's really nothing I can do about it. Work is work after all. **

**Thanks for reading! **


	3. Chapter 3

**This is a really late update, I know. **

**But since my mom's going out of town next week (bringing the laptop with her), I doubt that I would have any other opportunity to update this.**

**So, I do not own Hetalia, let's get this going already!**

* * *

Emil had no idea how he had managed to survive the whole day.

As had been expected, avoiding Kaoru was harder than he thought it would be. For some strange reason, he was in every class that Emil had that day and he always seemed determined to sit right beside him during these classes, or at least, as close to him as possible. During break and in between periods, Kaoru would always try to talk to Emil, who would practically run to the next class just to avoid him. He had even been forced to hide in the girls' locker room during gym just so Kaoru wouldn't find him. (Which, of course, resulted to him being sent to the principal's office and to a particularly ugly bruise on his forehead.)

And as if the lessons themselves weren't already hard enough as it is, Emil found it completely impossible to concentrate in any of his classes with the knowledge that Kaoru was right there, beside him, or behind him, or in front of him. He didn't know why but it just bothered him to learn that he was that close to him and Emil just couldn't bring it out of his head.

So you could imagine his relief when the bell finally rang, signaling the end of the school day.

Sighing in relief, Emil heaved his backpack on his shoulder and got up from his seat.

"Emil-" Kaoru was saying, running up to him. But before he could continue, Emil had run out of the classroom in a speed that he never thought himself capable of.

_Don't look back, don't look back. _He thought as he ran down the hallway, unaware of where he was really going, as long as it was away from Kaoru. After about a minute, Emil could see the school's main entrance right ahead. He felt his heart swelling with relief as he drew nearer and nearer to it-

"Mr. Steilsson!"

_Shit. _Emil thought, skidding to a halt and turning around only to find himself staring back into the stern face of the vice-principal, who was glaring as she marched towards him.

"We certainly seem to be in a hurry." She said, her arms crossed over her chest.

"Please, ma'am." Emil said. "I-I'm really-"

"Save it." She said, raising her hand, signaling him to stop. "You know the rules, Mr. Steilsson. No running in the hallways. Now come with me." With that, she turned on her heel and strode off down the hallway.

Emil groaned inwardly and followed her, ignoring all the snickers and giggles around him. As he followed the vice-principal (no doubt to the principal's office), he heard his phone vibrating in his pocket. Emil checked that the vice-principal wasn't looking before taking his phone out of his pocket and checking the message that had been sent to him.

It was from Lukas.

_From: Lukas Bondevik_

_Subject: Sorry_

_Hey Emil, u don't mind if I go ahead w/o u right? Sorry, Mathias's getting impatient. See u home. _

Emil groaned before typing out a reply.

_To: Lukas Bondevik_

_Subject: Re:Sorry_

_Oh sure, go ahead and make out with your dumbass of a boyfriend while you leave me here to suffer the hands of the demon principal. Thanks a lot._

Lukas replied faster than Emil expected.

_From: Lukas Bondevik_

_Subject: Re:Re:Sorry_

_Wat have u done this time?_

Before Emil could reply however, they had arrived at the principal's office. Emil pocketed his cellphone before entering the room, the vice-principal glaring at him disapprovingly as he went.

"Sir…?" Emil said nervously as the vice-principal closed the office door behind her.

The principal sat behind his desk, staring at Emil through a pair of glasses, a look of mild surprise on his face. He sighed as he leaned back against his chair. "Explain please, Mr. Steilsson, what you did to land yourself here."

Emil looked at the vice-principal, who stood in front of the door, arms crossed over her chest and a stern look on her face. Sighing, he turned to the principal and said in the most nonchalant manner possible, "I was running in the hallways."

The principal raised his eyebrows at him. "And why, may I ask, were you running in the hallways?" He asked, his voice equally nonchalant.

"Wanted to get home quickly." Emil replied immediately.

The principal sighed and shook his head. "Well, since I have much more important business matters to attend to right now, I think we can overlook this matter and see to it with a simple reminder not to run in the hallways again. Understood, Mr. Steilsson?"

Emil blinked, almost not daring to believing it. "You're…You're not going to punish me?"

"Nonsense!" The vice-principal said, the tone of her voice starting to mount to outrage. "Sir, this young man here was running in the hallways and if I hadn't stopped him then he would surely have hurt someone in the process, if not himself."

"I am aware of that." The principal said calmly. "However, given that I have much more important, pressing matters to deal with, I suggest that a reminder would be enough for Mr. Steilsson this time. If, by any chance, he is caught running in the hallways again, then we will surely think of a punishment for him, if, of course, it is at a convenient time for me." The principal finished this with a tone of finality and for a long moment, he and the vice-principal simply stood there, the vice-principal rigid and glaring, the principal calm and relaxed.

Finally, the vice-principal nodded her head. "Very well." She said stiffly. "Come, Mr. Steilsson." She barked, opening the door of the office. Emil looked at the principal and was surprised to see the smallest of smiles on his face.

"Come on, we haven't got all day." The vice-principal said through gritted teeth. "Y-Yes, ma'am." Emil said quickly, hurriedly striding through the door. Once it had been closed behind him, the vice-principal gave Emil a glare so intense that it could have melted the entire North Pole. Then she turned on her heel and strode angrily down the hallway.

Letting out a deep relieved breath, Emil turned around, intending to get out of here as fast as he could (Without running this time. He didn't want to risk it).

He had managed to get to the entrance of the school without so much as even walking fast and was relieved to be finally outside. Sighing in relief, Emil adjusted his backpack on his shoulder and was about to walk down the steps and outside the gate when there was a crack of lightning and a boom of thunder and a torrent of rain suddenly poured down on him.

Emil groaned as he looked up at the storm-gray sky. "Great. Just perfect." He muttered crossly to himself as he ran back to the entrance to shield himself from the rain. Luckily he had only gotten himself mildly wet.

Emil took off his backpack and started rummaging around inside for his umbrella. After about a minute of rummaging and failing to find it, Emil moaned in misery and shook his head. Sighing, he drew himself up and put his backpack on again.

_It's either wait for the rain to pass or go out there and brave it, Emil. Make your choice. _He thought miserably as he sat on the part of the steps that was dry and stared out at the rain.

Why did everything have to go wrong today? First Kaoru, then all the incidents and mess-ups in class, then being sent to the principal's office, being left behind by Lukas, and now this.

Emil hung his head. "What more do I have to go through?" He said mournfully.

Right at that moment, he heard footsteps from behind him. Thinking that they must just be another student making his or her way home, Emil ignored it. A few moments later, the footsteps stopped right behind him and a voice that he knew all too well said, "Hey."

Emil looked up and stared right up into Kaoru's face. He scowled. "What're you-"

"Here." Emil stared on, wide-eyed as Kaoru brought out a bright red umbrella and held it out to him.

Emil blinked then scowled at him. "Why are you-"

"Just take it." With that, Kaoru pressed the umbrella insistently into Emil's hands, who could only stare down at it in surprise. Finally, he looked up at Kaoru, a puzzled expression on his face. Kaoru only smiled. "You need it more than I do."

Emil frowned and got up, the umbrella still in his hand. "Why are you giving it to me? Shouldn't you be using it for yourself?"

"No need." Kaoru shook his head. "I'll get out of here without getting wet in some other way."

Emil scowled and was about to ask him what this 'other way' was when Kaoru said. "You should use that to get home. You can return it to me tomorrow."

Emil wasn't sure how to respond to this gesture. He sure as hell wasn't about to thank him after all that had happened that day just because he had arrived. And he sure wasn't apologizing either. Seeing no other option, Emil did the only other thing that he could think of.

He opened the umbrella, got under it, and walked right off, not turning around to look back at Kaoru.

He felt like an idiot. Why was he walking off with Kaoru's umbrella? Why was he taking it with him? Why was he letting himself into Kaoru's debt? This couldn't be right. This wasn't right at all!

When he had finally managed to get right past the gate without getting a drop wet, Emil turned around impulsively and found Kaoru still standing there, typing out something in his cellphone.

And without another word or another glance back, Emil turned on his heel and ran all the way home down the wet street.

* * *

_To: Wang Yao_

_Subject: Need a ride_

_Hey Yao, do you think you could give me a ride? I forgot my umbrella._

Kaoru pocketed his cellphone and turned to look expectantly at the school gates.

But no, Emil wasn't there anymore.

Kaoru felt his heart sink even lower than before. He didn't understand why Emil was acting like this. He didn't understand why he was avoiding him and not speaking to him. If he had been the Emil he had known before, then he would have been excited to see his old friend again. He would have been chattering to him endlessly and would have done anything to sit as close to him as possible.

This was the Emil that Kaoru had wanted to meet again in his return here.

But the Emil he met instead was far from this one.

The Emil here was cold and distant, silent and secluded. He had run away at even just the simplest greeting from Kaoru and he had been avoiding the sight of him the moment he had arrived.

Kaoru didn't understand why this was so and he certainly didn't want it to continue.

Right at that moment, his cellphone rang in his pocket and he quickly pulled it out and read Yao's reply.

_From: Wang Yao_

_Subject: Re:Need a Ride_

_Fine. On my way._

Kaoru sighed, put away his cellphone, and sat down on the steps, not knowing how much time passed until a sleek black car drove past the school gates and pulled up right in front of the steps.

The car's backseat window rolled open and a Korean boy with dark hair (and a curl that, if you looked at it closely, would appear to have a face) stuck his head out, while a Taiwanese girl with long dark hair, positively beaming, leaned forward beside him.

"Hey Kaoru!" Yong Soo grinned jovially at his friend, who only returned the greeting with a slightly annoyed smile.

"How are you doing Kaoru!" Mei cried out, waving.

"I'm fine." Kaoru heaved his backpack on his shoulders and started making towards the car. "Let's just go."

Mei and Yong Soo opened the door for Kaoru and made space for him as he climbed into the car. He scowled at the sideview mirror the moment he had sat down. "You didn't tell me you would bring Mei and Yong Soo with you."

The man sitting on the driver's seat (and who of course had been driving the car) turned to look apologetically at Kaoru. He had long dark hair tied into a ponytail and looked Chinese. "I'm sorry Kaoru, it's just, I had to go and pick them up from their schools on the way. I hope you don't mind."

Judging by the look on Kaoru's face though, it looked like he did mind. Well he didn't mind Mei that much, she was tolerable enough. But Yong Soo was a complete uproar and had it not been for the limited amount of space in the car, then Yong Soo would have been running around excitedly like a little kid.

"So, how was your first day back?" Yao asked, just to start conversation, as he drove outside the school gates.

"Awesome!" Yong Soo declared loudly.

"Great!" Mei beamed.

"Good." Kaoru said nonchalantly.

"That's good to hear." Yao said. "You should all thank Kaoru then, if you really enjoyed yourselves here. After all, it was his idea to come here."

Mei did so promptly, turning to Kaoru and giving him a bright smile. "Thank you, Kaoru!"

Kaoru simply waved it off however, until Yong Soo turned to him and asked, "Why'd you wanna come back here anyway? I thought you never wanted to see that old house where you used to live with your parents ever again ever since-"

"Yong Soo!" Mei hissed sharply at the Korean boy, who turned to her blinking, then looked back at Kaoru, who was glaring at him.

"Sorry." Yong Soo muttered.

The atmosphere in the car suddenly turned tense and Yong Soo tried breaking it by saying, "So Kaoru, why'd you want to come back here anyway?"

Kaoru stared out the window and thought for a moment. Somehow, the only thing coming to mind was Emil and Kaoru couldn't help smiling a little as thought of him.

"Personal reasons. You wouldn't understand." He told Yong Soo quietly.

"I see…" Yao said skeptically. "Well, I do hope it was worth all the money we spent just to get here then."

"Oh it is." Kaoru said, not quite sure why he felt so…sure of himself. Yong Soo and Mei were looking at him oddly, as if they couldn't quite believe the words coming out of his mouth.

"I'll make sure it is." Kaoru said, turning back to the window with the smallest trace of a smirk on his lips.

* * *

**So….Exhausted…**

**So anyways! A few announcements!**

**Updates may be going slow from now on.**

**Like I might have mentioned, my mom's going out of town (like she always is) next week and since this is, technically, her laptop, she's going to have to take it with her. And get this, she'll be out of town FOR A SOLID MONTH. And I doubt that she'll be able to buy a new laptop for herself and give this one to me, like she said, what with how little time we currently have and with everything going on. **

**So no can do, can't update much.**

**And need I mention that next week will be the getting of our school report cards and that I might have failed math (again) which means that I'll have to take summer completion class (again) if I want to advance to the next grade? Oh and I also have a few other projects to worry about and have to write super-quick!**

**Yeah, my internet time seems quite limited this month. **

**God this is turning depressing.**

**So, bye, hope you guys have a better time than me this month!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey-o!**

**I hope you guys haven't given up on this story yet XDD. But really, I am truly sorry for the late updates ;_;**

**Disclaimer: Hetalia belongs to the awesome Hidekaz Himaruya! **

* * *

_"Kaoru, are you really going?" A teary-eyed, 6-year-old Emil sniffled, clutching his stuffed puffin close to his chest. _

_Kaoru nodded his head solemnly. "I have to, Emil. My parents decided it a long time ago when they were both going to split up."_

_The both of them stood on the sidewalk outside Kaoru's house. Emil had been worried when Kaoru hadn't shown up at school for the past few days and he was surprised to find a moving van outside Kaoru's house when he arrived home from school that day. Now he understood why and Emil just couldn't stop himself from crying._

_Emil blinked. "Split up? What does that mean?"_

_Kaoru looked sadly back at the house, which had been emptied a day ago. "I don't know what it means either, but mama and papa said it meant that they didn't want to be together anymore..."_

_Emil sniffed and shook his head. "B-B-But you guys just moved here! You can't just leave now!"_

_Kaoru turned back to look at Emil and smiled sadly. "I don't want to move yet either. But I'm going to be staying with papa from now on and he decided that he wanted to go back to Hong Kong."_

_Emil continued to shake his head, refusing to believe that this was really happening. "But...But...!"_

_"It's all right, Emil." Kaoru said, placing a comforting hand on his friend's shoulder. "Papa told me he was going to teach me how to send an e-mail, so I can talk to you through there all the time. And anyways, who said I was never going to come back?"_

_Emil just looked down at the ground. "It's-It's not that..." He sobbed. "But didn't we promise?"_

_Kaoru blinked. "About what?"_

_Emil looked up at him disbelievingly. "You don't remember? Didn't we promise...that if you're ever going back to Hong Kong...that you'd take me with you?" The Icelandic boy hiccuped and buried his face in his puffin. _

_Kaoru looked stunned for a moment and then he sighed. "I'm really sorry I can't keep that promise this time, Emil. But I'll make it up to you next time! I promise!"_

_"Kaoru."_

_A large, rough hand gripped Kaoru's shoulder and the Asian boy looked up to the sad, kind face of his father. "It's time to go, Kaoru."_

_"Yeah, gimme a second." Kaoru said. His father nodded first at him, then at Emil, before walking towards the taxi waiting for them. Kaoru turned back to Emil, feeling the weight of the sadness on his shoulders, before finally opening his mouth and saying, "Goodbye, Emil."_

_Emil choked on his sobs but didn't look up._

_Kaoru sighed and then he did something he had never done before but had always wished he could._

_Leaning forward, he took Emil by both shoulders and planted a kiss on his best friend's forehead._

_"Bye." He said quietly before starting to walk towards the waiting taxi._

_"W-Wait, Kaoru!"_

_Kaoru stopped, feeling a strange anticipation building up in his gut, and turned to look at Emil, who was looking at him with such a pitiful, sad, tear-stained face. _

_A small blush beginning to spread across his cheeks, Emil held out his puffin towards the Asian. "T-Take Mr. Puffin!" He stuttered, looking away, embarrassed._

_Kaoru blinked and then stared at Emil in shock. "What? But you love Mr. Puffin!"_

_"Th-That's exactly why...I want you to have him!" Emil said, screwing his eyes shut as the redness in his face intensified. _

_Kaoru's eyes widened but then slowly, hesitantly, he stepped forward and with slow, deliberate movements, took the stuffed toy from Emil. "Are you sure about this?"_

_Emil finally opened his eyes and looked at him. Slowly, he nodded his head. "T-Take good care of him, okay?" He sniffed._

_Kaoru smiled. "Thank you. And I will."_

_A car horn sounded behind Kaoru and the both of them turned to look at the taxi. _

_Kaoru gave Emil one last smile. "Bye, Emil." He said, before sprinting towards the taxi, the stuffed toy clutched to his chest._

_Emil watched as Kaoru climbed into the vehicle. He watched as the taxi reversed out of the driveway. He watched as Kaoru poked his head out the window and waved back at him, beaming and clutching Mr. Puffin tight in one hand, and he watched as the taxi drove down the road, turned a corner, and was out of sight._

* * *

"-mil? Oi, Emil!"

Groaning, Emil stirred and looked up, blinking as the last traces of sleep began to fade. Yawning, Emil stretched and scratched his head, glaring down at his unfinished homework. He realized that the thing that had woken him was the consistent knocking at his door and the sound of his brother calling his name.

"Emil, I swear, if you don't open this door right now, I'm going to bust my way in!"

"All right, all right!" Emil snapped impatiently, scraping his chair backwards and getting up. Sighing exasperatedly, he opened the door to find a frowning Lukas staring back at him. He glared back at his brother. "What?"

"This umbrella," Lukas began and much to Emil's horror, he brought out Kaoru's red umbrella from behind him, which Emil had failed to notice until then and which he had forgotten at the door. "I've never seen it before. Where'd you get it?"

"I, uh, that's...uh..." Emil rubbed the back of his neck and tried to avoid eye contact. But it didn't take long for Lukas to see that something was wrong. Sighing, the elder brother shook his head and said, "You know, if you borrowed this from a friend, you don't have to act all protective."

"Uhh, yeah!" Emil said, latching onto the only hope he had left. "Th-That's it! I borrowed it from a friend! And he, uh, he didn't want me to tell anyone I borrowed it from him, because he, uhh...he didn't want people to keep asking to borrow his umbrella next time it rains." Emil gave a small nervous laugh. "He's-He's weird isn't he?"

Lukas didn't look convinced however. "You're a bad liar, Emil. Did you know that?"

Emil sighed, admitting defeat. "Okay yes, I borrowed it from...someone! What's it to you?"

Lukas shrugged. "Nothing much. I just wanted to know who you got it from so you could return it as soon as possible."

Emil rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I'll return it to him soon, okay?! You happy?"

Lukas nodded and handed over the umbrella. "Who'd you borrow it from anyway?"

Emil tried not to look too tense as he took the umbrella from Lukas. "J-Just a classmate of mine."

"Which classmate?" Lukas asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Ah..well...um..." Emil tried to think of any names, any at all, but his mind was as blank as a clean whiteboard and he couldn't think of anything. Finally, he managed to say, "Peter! I borrowed it from Peter!"

Lukas raised his eyebrows. "Peter."

"Yep!" Emil nodded, inwardly pleased with himself.

"You mean, Peter, the kid Berwald and Tino adopted? The one who's currently in 4th grade and in a different school than you?"

Emil felt his whole being sink into despair. "Umm...yes?"

Lukas rolled his eyes and shook his head. "You know Emil, it's not that hard to tell the truth sometimes. And anyway, why are you so determined not to tell me?"

Emil had just been about to say something, another excuse, but he stopped. Why _did_ he not want Lukas knowing it was from Kaoru?

Finally, Emil sighed and said, "Okay. It's Kaoru's."

Lukas knitted his eyebrows. "Kaoru? Wasn't he that Chinese kid who used to live across from us?"

"Yeah." Emil nodded.

Lukas raised his eyebrows. "So he's back then?"

"Duh." Emil said. "Now if you'll excuse me, I've got some homework to finish." And before LUkas could say anything else, Emil had closed the door in his face, clutching the umbrella in his hand and his mind reeling with the memory of the dream he had just had.

* * *

"Kaoru?"

"Yeah?" The Asian boy in question looked up from his homework to address Yao, who had just entered his room. Outside in the living room, Kaoru could hear Yong Soo and Mei screaming and making inaudible noises at a particularly sweet scene in the Korean drama they were watching. _Those idiots, _Kaoru thought to himself as he turned to face Yao. "What is it?"

"I distinctly remember making sure to pack an umbrella in your bag before you left for school today." Yao said, a stern tone in his voice. "And just this afternoon, you texted me saying that you had forgotten it. What was that all about?"

Kaoru sighed inwardly as he faced Yao and said, "I gave it to a friend who forgot his."

Yao blinked as the information registered in his head, then he smiled. "Oh? Making new friends already? That's great."

Kaoru nodded. "Well, technically, he's not really a 'new' friend."

Yao knitted his eyebrows. "I never knew you already knew anyone here."

Kaoru nodded and turned back to his homework. "Me, mom and dad moved into the house across his when I was six."

There was a long, pregnant pause in which only the sound of Kaoru's pen moving across the paper could be heard. Then Yao asked, a note of concern in his voice, "Kaoru, are you sure you're all right?"

Kaoru stopped writing. "About what?" He replied, his voice coming out hard and flat.

"Your father." Yao said.

"What about him?"

"Well," Yao shrugged and looked at Kaoru worriedly. "I know it's hard to lose a loved one. Believe me, I've tried. It must have come as a shock to you, to learn that he's-"

"I'm all right." Kaoru snapped, his voice coming out harsher than he had intended. "I'm perfectly fine, Yao, really."

There was a pause. "Okay." Yao said, sounding unconvinced. "All right. Good...Well then, I'll be taking my leave now."

Kaoru sighed inwardly as he tried to focus on his homework.

"And Kaoru?"

Kaoru nodded once to show that he was listening.

"I'll always be here if ever you need someone to talk to, okay?"

Kaoru sighed and then nodded his head. "Okay."

The moment Yao closed his door behind him, Kaoru gave one more long sigh and leaned heavily against his chair, letting it balance on two legs and throwing his head back so he was staring up at the ceiling of his room. He could still vividly remember that day.

The cold rain soaking him to the skin, the smell of the wet grass, the constant sound of the raindrops as they showered around him, and there, in front of him, unable to tear his eyes away from it-

_No._

Kaoru shook his head. He shouldn't be thinking of these things. This wasn't the time, and nor was this the place. He had promised himself. Promised himself that he was never going to think about it anymore.

Sighing once more, Kaoru let his chair fall back on all four legs and almost immediately, his eyes fell on a certain stuffed toy on the shelf above his desk.

Smiling to himself, Kaoru took the stuffed Mr. Puffin from the shelf and held it in his hands. It now looked old and worn, slightly dirty, but Kaoru had to admit, still in good condition considering how old it was now.

The Asian ran his finger slowly down the side of the stuffed toy's wing, along a line of white thread marks that concealed a tear.

He wondered if Emil still remembered that day as vividly as he remembered it.

Chuckling softly, Kaoru placed the puffin on his desk and returned to his homework, occasionally glancing at the puffin and thinking, every time he looked at if, of Emil.

"I made a promise. Didn't I, Emil?" He said quietly, as a small smile played on his lips.

* * *

**And that's the end of this chapter!**

**I'm sorry I can't write any more, but I've got a pretty good idea going about the next chapter, so I expect I'll be able to post chapter 5 sooner than planned ^^**

**Thanks for reading and till next update!**


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